soon pope benedict xvi steps down as leader of the catholic church. about an hour and eight minutes from now. this morning the pope said a final farewell to his closest advisers and cardinals. but he's not expected to speak publicly anymore as pope. "today in the bay area's" maryann ahern is witnessing history this morning and joins us live from the vatican. maryann. >> reporter: hello to you, terry. we just saw a helicopter arrive behind the vatican. we're assuming that perhaps that will be the helicopter that will take benedict xvi. as you said at 5:00 rome time, he leaves here headed to castle gandalfo, the papal summer residence. there are already said to be 5,000 to 8,000 waiting for him there. he will give a final blessing to the public at that residence. then later, three hours from his time that he leaves here, the end of the workday for the that is the official time of his resignation. he will be staying there for a couple of months until his home behind the walls of the vatican is ready for him. and then the next question, of course, who wil